Published: September 06, 2008 12:37 am            

EHS prevails in tale of two halves

A tale of two halves . . . it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Sound like a Charles Dickens novel?

Effingham High School played two halves of football Friday evening and so did Paris, but the Tigers had the best of times in the second half and almost pulled out an Apollo Conference victory. However, the Hearts toughened up defensively, held and came away a 27-21 winner.

"That was a tale of two halves," said EHS Coach Mike McDonald after the game. "Offensively in the first half we did pretty much what we wanted to do. But the second half was a different story. Paris came out fired up and did a nice job. I'm disappointed in our second half effort. Paris came out and played well and we didn't."

The Hearts put together two quick scores to start the game. After not moving the ball well on the first series, the Hearts came back and in the blink of an eye, had put six points on the board. Nick Jones kept the ball and went from the EHS 38 yard line into the end zone with 8:10 on the clock. That was a 62 yard touchdown run. The point after failed.

But the Hearts came right back less than a minute later to score again. Paris took the ball and on the very first play, fumbled and Effingham's Ryne Gartner recovered putting the Hearts at the Paris 36 yard line.

Jones went six yards to the 30 and then nailed Brandon Apke with a 30 yard pass for the score at the 7:16 mark. Jones ran the extra point and the Hearts were up 14-0.

Paris showed they could score also when they took the kickoff and started a drive from the 32 yard line. Marching downfield, the Tigers picked up two first downs, putting them at the EHS 44 yard line. From there, quarterback Avery Mason connected with Chase Brinkley on a 44 yard pass play at the 4:40 mark. Robert Morris kicked the extra point and the Tigers had pulled within 14-7.

Things quieted down for a while. With just over 10 minutes remaining before halftime, the Hearts mounted a drive. Standing at their own 38 yard line, the Hearts started picking up first downs right and left. An 11-yard run by Jones and another gain of three put the Hearts at the Paris 18. From there, Jaron Allred garnered three yards. Jones picked up a first down putting the Hearts at the 10. Jones then scrambled back and found Rob Grant in the end zone with 7:09 showing. Joe Balda kicked the extra point and the Hearts led 21-7.

After holding Paris at the 33-yard line, EHS mounted siege a on the goal line with 3:46 showing before halftime. Jones ran three straight times for a gain of 36 yards. He connected with Apke for seven yards and picked up another first down with three yards. Allred ran nine yards and the Hearts stood at the 12. From there, Jones plunged in. The extra point was blocked, but the Hearts held a 27-7 lead.

The Hearts came up with two big defensive plays before the half when Eric Whitaker sacked Mason in the backfield. Apke then intercepted a Mason pass to end any threat.

Effingham's defense proved to be solid to start the third quarter. Paris mounted a major offensive attack taking the ball and picking up four first downs, marching downfield. The Tigers ticked minutes off the clock and eventually reached the Effingham 15 yard line. With fourth and three yards, Effingham's defense held allowing Paris only two yards.

But the Tigers came right back on their next series of plays to pick up a touchdown with 2:20 showing. In the move towards the end zone, Mason connected with Zach Walls on an 18 yard pass play. Mason picked up six yards, putting the Tigers at the EHS 20. From there, Jake Keys rambled in for the score. Morris kicked the extra point and the Tigers had pulled within 27-14.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Hearts punted. Paris started at its own 32 yard line and Levi Eslinger took off. Evading tackles, Eslinger, a junior, shot towards the end zone and 68 yards later went across with 11:39 showing. Morris kicked again and suddenly the Tigers were within a touchdown at 27-21.

The Hearts immediately answered back. Apke took the kickoff and ran 90 yards back for the score with 11:24 showing. However, a holding penalty negated the touchdown and the Hearts eventually had to punt.

EHS started a drive, netting two first downs and pushing to the Paris 34. EHS almost lost the ball on a fumble, but recovered then garnered three yards to the 31. From there, Paris picked off a Jones pass.

That defensive play started a drive for the Tigers. With 1:49 left in the game, the Tigers had picked up a first down and stood at the EHS 44 yard line. Paris put together runs of five and two and stood at the 37 with 1:33 on the clock. EHS held Eslinger on the next play. With fourth and three yards to go, Mason connected with Eslinger. There was a heart-stopping moment for the crowd when the chains were brought out. But the Hearts came up on the lucky end when the Tigers were just short and turned over the ball.

From there the Hearts picked up a first down, then held on as time ran out.

"We're still a fairly young team and we have to adjust to situations," said Coach McDonald. "We're still learning to do that. Our defense played like last week where we'd make a nice stop and then let the other team have a big play."

The Hearts picked up 296 yards on the ground and 63 in the air for 359. Paris had 289 yards on the ground and 67 in the air for 338. Once again neither team had many penalties. The Hearts picked up five for 40 yards, while Paris had three for 20.

"We needed to work on our air game and we did that tonight," said McDonald. "Brandon Apke made some nice plays. We're learning to throw better. Nick is doing a nice job.

"Ethan Fulk, late in the game, gave us some good yards. He's got good hands and runs hard. I thought the kids kept their heads. We were disappointed when we had that touchdown called back. But we're excited about the win."

The game was the Apollo Conference opener for both teams. Paris drops to 0-2 on the season. EHS stands at 1-1 and will be back in action next Friday when it travels to Newton.

Millie Lange can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 123 or millie.lange@effinghamdailynews.com.

TEAM STATISTICS

--------------------------EHS---P

FIRST DOWNS----------16---13

By Rushing---------------14---11

By Passing-----------------2----2

By Penalty-----------------0----0

RUSHES (NO.)------------44---48

Yards Gained--------------315--289

Yards Lost--------------------19---18

Net Yards-------------------296--271

Touchdowns-------------------2----2

PASSES ATTEMPTED----12---9

Number Completed-------------6---4

No. Had Intercepted-------------1---1

Yards Gained--------------------63--67

Touchdowns-----------------------2---1

TOTAL PLAYS-----------------56---57

TOTAL YARDS-------------359--338

PUNTS-------------------------4----3

Yards Kicked-----------------121---87

Avg. Kick------------------30.2--29.0

PUNT RETURNS---------------0---1

Yards Returned------------------0---0

Touchdowns---------------------0---0

KICKOFF RETURNS------------5---2

Yards Returned-----------------55---49

Touchdowns-----------------------0---0

INTERCEPTIONS--------------1---1

Yards Returned--------------0---33

Touchdowns------------------0---0

FUMBLES----------------------1---1

Number Lost---------------------0---1

PENALTIES--------------------5---3

Yards Penalized-------------40---20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Paris — Mason, 13 for 40; Keys, 16 for 93, 1 touchdown; Eslinger, 19 for 138, 1 touchdown

Effingham — Allred, 13 for 48; Mintert, 3 for 8; Jones, 22 for 211, 2 touchdowns; Fulk, 6 for 29

Passing

Paris — Mason, 4 of 9, 67 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception

Effingham — Jones, 6 of 12, 63 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception

Pass Receiving

Paris — Brinkley, 2 for 47, 1 touchdown; Walls, 1 for 18; Eslinger, 1 for 2

Effingham — Apke, 2 for 37, 1 touchdown; Mintert, 1 for 4; Allred, 1 for 9; Grant, 1 for 10, 1 touchdown; Fulk, 1 for 3

Punting

Paris — Abernathy, 3 for 87, 29.0 avg.

Effingham — Mintert, 4 for 121, 30.2 avg.

Punt Returns

Paris — Morris, 1 for 0

Effingham — None

Kickoff Returns

Paris — Dayton, 1 for 10; Brinkley, 2 for 35

Effingham — Apke, 5 for 55

Interceptions

Paris — 1 for 33

Effingham — Apke, 1 for 0

Opp. Fumbles Recovered

Paris — None

Effingham — Gartner

Tackles

Silva (10 solos-4 assists — 14), Meinhart 2-1 — 4, Apke 3-0 — 3, Johnson 1-4 — 5, Gilbert 4-1 — 5, Nosbisch 0-2 — 2, Gartner 5-5 — 10, Morrow 1-1 — 2, Dammerman 3-1 — 4, Jones 1-1 — 2, Probst 1-0 — 1, Whitaker 4-3 — 7

Team Scoring

Paris---------7----0---7---7--------21

Effingham---14---13---0---0--------27

E — 1st Qt., 8:10, Jones 62 run.

E — 1st Qt., 7:16, Apke, 3 pass from Jones. PAT — Jones, run.

P — 1st Qt., 4:46, Brinkley, 44 pass from Mason. PAT — Morris, kick.

E — 2nd Qt., 7:09, Grant, 10 pass from Jones. PAT — Balda, kick.

E — 2nd Qt., :58.3, Jones, 12 run.

P — 3rd Qt., 2:20, Keys, 20 run. PAT — Morris, kick.

P — 4th Qt., 11:39, Eslinger, 68 run. PAT — Morris, kick.